Things at home

I can smell the fresh, hot chocolate sheet cake middle daughter (10) made this afternoon. She's just waiting for it to cool enough to put on a confectioner's sugar glaze. Oldest daughter is fussing over her skirt pattern. Pleats are a stinker to figure out. Boys are in their rooms, one listening to Redwall on his CD player, one on his laptop, another reading, not sure who's left to account for. Least one is drifting from place to place, looking for food. She's so funny. She'll open the fridge, hunting for snacks and then will head in there again about 15 minutes later, expecting something new to have materialized. So silly. Her thirteen year old brother does exactly the same thing. Must think the refrigerator is magical. I wish.

The house is a mess (like it gets in a day) and I don't even care. Just finished re-potting the two African violets my hippie neighbor gave me awhile back. I got them to blooming (yay me!) and haven't killed them yet. I'm a whiz at outdoor gardening, but am a death wish on indoor plants. They're doing me proud, however, and they deserved pots that are a bit larger. Potted a new cactus too, and if I can avoid overwatering it, we'll be doing just fine.

The only glitch of the day was my needy neighbor calling once this morning before 9am, and then during naptime. No message and I just didn't answer. My heart begins to fly when I see that she's the one calling---how's that for stress? But for now, avoidance seems to be the best plan for me. I don't like being that way, but it appears to be necessary.

Now off to make a meat and potato pie for our dinner. I'm hungry!

On this rainy day

My goodness. What a thunder storm we had last night at around 3am. Made me jump. Caused a couple of the dogs to be a bit restless too. I always get a little antsy when the lightning and all are so evident. We have a huge old oak tree in the backyard, and I always pray for the safety of that tree. So far, so good.

Still raining now. Oldest daughter's home from work today, and she was wanting a rainy day so she'd not be tempted to leave the house. She's got a pattern for a western-style skirt to sew, so she'll be pleasantly busy at home.

I might leave for a bit later on---a breather. Just some alone time would be nice. It's still raining and thundering a bit, but that's not a problem. Makes for a cozy day.

Reading a good book....very good, in fact. A nice way to spend my naptime today, yes?!

On the news and other stuff

Back around Lent, I went on a media fast. It was trying, because I tend to stuff my poor brain with as much information as possible. To not be doing that was a stretch. A sacrifice. But, here lately, I've found that my life isn't hardly ever impacted in a positive way when I read news online, or read it in the newspaper. We just cancelled our subscription to our city's Sunday paper, and I think I'll dance around the online news sources more often.

The nonsense about the sw*ine fl* has been a big no-show concern, and the news about the pres*dent walking the grounds holding his wife's hand is definitely not news worthy. My husband has a theory (and he's not the only one) about the media. He says that when they make a big hooplah about issues, that they're diverting our attention from the real news. Maybe so. For whatever reason, I'm going to fill my head with other stuff.

On that note, I've got two pots of Marjoram to play with...the best-smelling herb on the planet, at least to my thinking, but also one of the hardest for us to find....oldest daughter bought me some flowers for an early Mother's Day gift! Plus a hanging basket of Impatiens and 3 pots of Petunias. She wasn't able to find the smaller six-packs, so gave me generous pots worth. Pink all around. Love it.

Will spend some time on schoolwork this morning, then on to cleaning up from the construction work of yesterday. A good day. I'm tired from the fuss, but looking forward to order again.

Monday's work done

The bathroom floor is done---well, except for the tiling. We can live with pressure-treated plywood and plastic for a bit. I'll tell you, the rot under the floor was extensive, and it's only the Lord who kept if from caving in. Truly. I think of us taking baths, filling that tub and the lack of support in the middle of the floor----well, it was practically all gone.

God's timing. So cool. We had the money at the time when the fixing of it was desperate, but the Lord took care of us through it all, even before we knew how bad the floor actually was.

And, to add to that blessing, Gary got the approval for two jobs today. One an elaborate headboard, and the other of a custom-made table and eight (count 'em) eight chairs. Whoa. The barn is definitely moving to being overflowing. When Gary told me about the table and chairs bid being approved today, all I could do was gasp. Sometimes blessings are a bit out of my comfort zone. I'm good at hardship, but this is wild. Just amazing.

Must go to bed now. We're bushed. Not much sleep with anticipating the bathroom work, and everyone (the boys and Gary) are pooped. Thanks to our friend of a neighbor who had all the expertise. Without him, we would've been lost. So grateful. :)

What happens when you have Pugs

Saturday

The movie night at church was so much fun. Little children who don't get to sit through a church service were there---and in the quiet spots in the movie (there were few!), you could hear their talking, whispers and giggles---and yes, yelling. Definitely oriented towards the little ones, which was sweet. Ours enjoyed it and everyone was worn out when we got home. There was a time when I avoided doing much extra stuff with them, finding it too overwhelming. I mean, really, taking eight children anywhere is an event, but after repeatedly seeing them have a good time away from home, we've done more doing than sitting at home. I make no excuses. Life is full, no matter. I can only do so much, but have rearranged my thinking so as to accommodate fun more readily. Sometimes it's a bit of a stretch...unfortunately.

Today must go to the store. Food's gone. I twittered about only having peanut butter and potatoes in the house, and don't exaggerate. I'm the only on up now, so when someone sidles into the room, will get ready and go. The dogs sometimes get frisky when left alone in the house (all four together), and I don't relish a race around the living room just yet. If I don't separate the puppies from the big dogs when I leave the room and they're not napping, joy abounds. :) 'Course it's overcast outside, and they think it's nighttime---all sleeping, so maybe they'll chill anyway.

Hope the weekend is restful. I'm low on sleep. A noisy thunderstorm blew through last night--right over head, so rest was just fitful and nothing more. Must nap. Often.

Books and relaxation

Reading the most relaxing book in awhile. Hope it stays as peachy as it is now. It's A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker, and the buzz is that the book is a bit autobiographical being that the author is a former wife of James Taylor. I wasn't aware of that when I began reading (and it doesn't change the way I feel about it in any way) but am enjoying the slow pace of the book. Very restful, which is a treat for me. I admit to picking it up at the library because the title is so fetching and the spine of the book is so pretty....decorative qualities do matter!

I took it to bed with me after getting back home from taking the least one and one of her brothers to Target for her to spend her birthday money. Wonderful to have an overcast day---a bit cooler, but still would warrant having the air conditioning on if I had a mind to pay for cooler air. As it is, seems too early to weaken for the indoor breeze. Will wait a bit more, and we'll enjoy using the fans in the meantime.

Tonight will take some of the kids to church for free family movie night---Cars, which we've rented and the kids will get a kick out of. And since we're not tearing into the bathroom tomorrow (it'll be on Monday), the weekend can pass fairly peaceably. I like that idea.